Govt to keep commercial disputes between ministries out of courts: Report

Officials said that disputes related to income tax, customs and railways will remain outside the scope of the new mechanism, the report said

From the next financial year, commercial disputes between government bodies—such as ministries and departments—that do not involve private parties will be settled through inter-ministerial panels, a report by the Economic Times said on January 15.

Under the new system, disputing government entities will no longer approach courts, the report said. Instead, the Centre is overhauling the existing administrative process and introducing a stricter, time-bound two-tier mechanism to handle such cases, according to ET.

The revised framework, which has received clearance from the Cabinet Secretariat and was circulated to ministries and departments earlier this week, is aimed at speeding up dispute resolution between government entities, including state-run companies, while also reducing the burden on courts, according to the newspaper.

Officials said that disputes related to income tax, customs and railways will remain outside the scope of the new mechanism, ET reported.

If a matter cannot be resolved by the designated inter-ministerial panel, it will be escalated to the Cabinet Secretary, whose decision will be final and binding, leaving no further avenue for appeal, the report said.